Psalms 94 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Psalm 94

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

94:1   O LORD, God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, shine forth!
2   Rise up, O judge of the earth;
    repay to the proud what they deserve!
3   O LORD, how long shall the wicked,
    how long shall the wicked exult?
4   They pour out their arrogant words;
    all the evildoers boast.
5   They crush your people, O LORD,
    and afflict your heritage.
6   They kill the widow and the sojourner,
    and murder the fatherless;
7   and they say, “The LORD does not see;
    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8   Understand, O dullest of the people!
    Fools, when will you be wise?
9   He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
  He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10   He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
  He who teaches man knowledge—
11     the LORD—knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are but a breath.¹
12   Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD,
    and whom you teach out of your law,
13   to give him rest from days of trouble,
    until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14   For the LORD will not forsake his people;
    he will not abandon his heritage;
15   for justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16   Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17   If the LORD had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18   When I thought, “My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19   When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
20   Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame² injustice by statute?
21   They band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.³
22   But the LORD has become my stronghold,
    and my God the rock of my refuge.
23   He will bring back on them their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the LORD our God will wipe them out.

Footnotes

[1] 94:11 Septuagint they are futile
[2] 94:20 Or fashion
[3] 94:21 Hebrew condemn innocent blood

Commentary

A call for justice, declaring that God is just; asking that His justice be demonstrated in the earth.

v1-3: The prayer of the righteous (Rev 6.10), leaving vengeance to God, for He is the Judge of all the earth. This is the response to the observation that the wicked were triumphant, and the righteous were suffering.

v4-7: The workers of iniquity, evildoers;

speaking arrogant and boastful words;
attacking the people of God;
mistreating the widow, the stranger, and the fatherless;
despising God, and claiming that He is ignorant of their schemes.

v8-11: But the Lord God is not ignorant of wicked men, their actions and words. God does not turn a blind eye; we may misunderstand Hab 1.13 in this respect.

Notice the possibility of 'conversion', that they understand, and become wise, and that they are corrected by God.

The Lord God is not ignorant of man's plans; He knows that their thoughts are "futile," yet He will show His mercy in changing our hearts and moulding our minds.

v12-15: Blessings upon the godly;

teaching from His word;
rest from adversity, with confidence that the wicked will be punished;
enjoy God's faithfulness;
fresh commitment to righteousness.

v16-19: The Lord knows our needs;

He will vindicate His own;
He gives His help; we have no hope apart from God;
His mercy to uphold us;
His comfort in times of anxiety.

All these circumstances are brought by evildoers; our answer is to look to God.

v20-21: A vital principle; iniquity cannot have fellowship with God. We have confidence in God's character that He hates all evil, and will always do so. The "corrupt throne" is explained as a conspiracy against the righteous and the innocent.

v22: We can ask God to be our defence, the rock of our refuge against those who plan evil.

v23: Evildoers punished fairly.